


The Chariot

by tinydooms



Series: We Three Together [11]
Category: The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Series
Genre: Action Scene, Car Chase, F/M, Gen, Heroic Self-Sacrifice, scholarship saves the day, things getting worse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinydooms/pseuds/tinydooms
Summary: “I think I may know what we need to do,” Evelyn said, the spark of determination returning to her eyes. She did not elaborate, but began to rush around the room, shoving her feet into her shoes and throwing her black cardigan on over her nightgown.Rick watched her, unable to keep a small smile from his lips. God, this woman. Assaulted in her own room by a literal monster and yet here she was, leading the charge.
Relationships: Evy Carnahan O'Connell/Rick O'Connell
Series: We Three Together [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714483
Comments: 16
Kudos: 61





	The Chariot

**The Chariot**

_Cairo, October 1922_

“I think I may know what we need to do,” Evelyn said, the spark of determination returning to her eyes. She did not elaborate, but began to rush around the room, shoving her feet into her shoes and throwing her black cardigan on over her nightgown. 

Rick watched her, unable to keep a small smile from his lips. God, this woman. Assaulted in her own room by a literal monster and yet here she was, leading the charge. She seemed to have forgotten them, frowning in concentration as she flicked her braid over her shoulders and bent to do up her shoelaces. Rick glanced at Jonathan. 

“Uh, Evelyn…?”

“Hush, I’m thinking,” she replied, starting on the other foot, and Rick tried not to notice how nicely her silk nightie clung to her body. They waited. Finally, she straightened. “Right. We need to go back to the museum.”

“What, again?” said Jonathan. 

“Yes.” Evelyn was already halfway out of the apartment; the men fell in line behind her and they clattered down to the car. “I _think_ I know what we need to do, but I have to consult Dr. Bey and I have to do it quickly--if he has the Book of the Dead we may be too late already, but there’s a chance--”

“Just a chance?” Daniels snapped. “He’s after the two of us now, lady; we need a hell of a lot more than a chance--”

“Don’t you talk to her like that,” Rick snapped back, vaulting into the seat beside Evelyn. “She’s just been attacked by a walking corpse--”

“Oh hush, both of you!” Evelyn cried. “Shouting won’t help! Jonathan, can’t this thing go any faster?”

“Patience, old mum,” Jonathan replied, easing the car around a corner. “We don’t want to crash.”

He did, however, press his foot to the gas pedal and the car sped through the eerie empty streets. Silence fell. Rick sat at the edge of his seat, scanning the darkness, looking out for the mummy, for Beni, for anything that might threaten them. Beside him, Evelyn twisted her hands in her lap, her head bowed. Her brow was knit; she seemed to be thinking hard. Something welled up inside of Rick, hot and sweet and stupidly sentimental. 

_I love her_ , he realized, a thrill passing through him. He looked at Evelyn again, at her pale, determined face. Yes, he loved her, and he had since Hamunaptra. He loved her spirit, her tenacity, her courage; he loved the pleasure she took in her work; he loved her glowing eyes and her curly hair and her radiant smile. Rick swallowed. There was so much he loved about Evelyn Carnahan, and so much more to learn to love. And he would be damned if he let some ancient undead creep kill her. 

Evelyn turned her eyes to him, questioning, and Rick realized he was staring. He pulled in a deep breath. 

“It’s gonna be fine,” he said in an undertone, almost more to himself than to her. “We’re gonna beat him.”

Evelyn gave him a tiny smile. “That’s the spirit.”

It was strange to see the Museum of Antiquities fully lit up, a pool of brightness in the eerie quiet of the night, as they drove up to it. Evelyn led them around the side of the building to the staff entrance. The door had barely shut behind them when the Medjai, Ardeth Bey, appeared before them through a door marked Kitchen. His dark eyes flicked over them. 

“The Creature has taken Mr. Henderson,” he said. Daniels nodded. The Medjai bowed his head. “May Allah give him an easy and pleasant journey, and shower blessings upon his grave.”

“He has the Book of the Dead, too,” Rick said. “We didn’t get to Chamberlain in time.”

Ardeth Bey sighed. Behind him, Dr. Bey came out of the kitchen, holding a tiny cup of coffee. 

“He’s taken Chamberlain? God rest his soul.” Dr. Bey’s eyes shifted to Evelyn. “Well, Miss Carnahan, the odds are distinctly _not_ in our favor.”

“I know,” Evelyn said. “But I’ve had a thought. I need to see the Mariette Tablet right away.”

The two Medjai looked at each other, and Dr. Bey shrugged. They led the way deeper into the museum, upstairs to a long gallery overlooking the Seti exhibit. 

“What’re we looking for, exactly?” Rick asked. 

“Yes, Evie, I think it’s time you shared your theories with us,” Jonathan added. 

Evelyn waved her hands. “Well, according to legend, the black book that the Americans found at Hamunaptra is supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now, it was a notion I was unwilling to believe.”

“Believe it, sister,” Rick said grimly. “That’s what brought our buddy back to life.”

Evelyn nodded. “Yes, but I’m thinking that if the black book can bring dead people to life--”

“--Then maybe the gold book can kill him,” Rick finished. 

“That’s the myth,” Evelyn said. “Now we just have to find out where the gold book is hidden.”

“And the Mariette Tablet has something to do with that?” Jonathan asked. 

“Yes, it contains the most detailed information we have about Hamunaptra; the Bembridge Scholars are famous for having translated it back in the ‘60s. I read the translation before we left; it said that the Golden Book of Amun-Ra was buried under the statue of Anubis--”

“That’s where we found the black book,” Daniels interjected. 

“Exactly!” Evelyn beamed at him. “I’m thinking there was an error in translation, so I--”

From outside came a low rumbling, a swell of voices calling out into the night. The entire group stopped dead on the landing, looking at each other. Evelyn went towards the window, heedless of any danger, and Rick followed. What on earth--? 

Outside, an enormous crowd crossed the plaza in front of the museum. They bore torches and knives and staves, and they were chanting a name. _Imhotep._

“Seriously?” Rick said. “He has minions now?”

“They have become his slaves,” Ardeth Bey intoned, joining them at the window. “So it has begun: the beginning of the end.”

The thought ran through Rick’s mind that this guy had missed his calling as an actor, but Evelyn was already shaking her head. 

“Not quite yet, it hasn’t. Come on,” she said to Rick and strode away, leaving the rest of the men staring out the window at the crowd advancing on the museum doors. 

The Mariette Tablet--at least, that’s what Rick guessed it was--stood in the center of the upstairs hallway, a huge jagged piece of stone densely engraved with hieroglyphs. Evelyn made a beeline to it and leaned in, running her finger along the ancient letters, muttering under her breath. Dr. Bey joined her. Rick looked over at Ardeth Bey; without speaking, they each took up a look-out position, listening to the assault on the doors downstairs. How long would it take for the bewitched Cairenes to break through?

“The Bembridge Scholars said that the Golden Book was buried inside the statue of Anubis--”

“So the old boys at Bembridge were mistaken,” Jonathan said. He sounded delighted. 

“Yes, they mixed the books up, mixed up where they were buried.” Evelyn’s nose was almost touching the tablet. “So if the black book is inside the statue of Anubis, the golden book must be inside--”

Downstairs the museum doors crashed open; a stream of shouting men poured into the museum. As one, Rick and Ardeth Bey leaned over the railing, looking to see where they were going. Jonathan peered over the edge and groaned. 

“Hurry, Evie, come on!”

“Patience is a virtue!” Evelyn snapped. 

The men were heading for the stairs. Rick turned to her. 

“Not right now, it isn’t!”

Jonathan was halfway down the corridor. “I think I’ll go and get the car started!”

“Be careful!” Rick called after him, and jumped when Evelyn gave a cry of triumph. 

“I’ve got it! The Golden Book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus. Take _that_ , Bembridge Scholars!” she crowed, punching the air and grinning like an idiot. She looked so delighted with herself; at any other moment Rick would have fallen at her feet in adoration. Instead, he seized her arm and began to sprint down the hallway after Jonathan, tugging her along with him as the others followed. 

“Great job!” he shouted, squeezing her hand. “Let’s go!”

They ran hard, down the service staircase and through the narrow empty halls of the back of the museum, and finally out the staff entrance. Outside, Jonathan was putting the car into gear, shoving the passenger door open. 

“Evy, come on Evy, hurry up!” he shouted. “Let’s go, come on!”

Daniels dived into the backseat, closely followed by Ardeth Bey and Dr. Bey. Rick slung Evelyn into the front seat and leaped in after her, bellowing at Jonathan to go, _go!_ Somehow Beni was there, sliding out of the museum doors, shouting for Imhotep. From somewhere, the mummy screeched in rage. Men began to pour out of the museum, chasing them and shouting. Rick stood up in the car as Jonathan pulled away, suddenly hating Beni with everything he had.

“You’re going to get yours, Beni, you hear me? _You’re gonna get yours!_ ” 

“Sit down!” Evelyn cried, tugging on his pant leg. “They could have guns!”

Rick dropped down into the seat beside her and Evie clutched at his arm with both hands. “That was close,” she said. “I can’t _believe_ that man is working with Imhotep! What on earth possessed him?”

“Fear,” Rick said. “And greed, if I know Beni.”

“Where to now?” Jonathan asked, turning a hard left and driving deeper into the souk in Khan al-Khalili. “How are we going to get to Hamunaptra before him?”

That was a good question. 

“Just get us out of the city,” Rick said. “Head south-west--”

He was thrown suddenly forward as Jonathan slammed on the brakes, and only saved himself from being brained by the dashboard by falling hard on his arms. Evelyn smacked her head on his shoulder; the men in the backseat were exclaiming. 

“What the hell--” Rick began and stopped, following Jonathan’s gaze. 

A pack of men stood in the narrow street before them, watching with cold, silent, bewitched eyes. There was no way out but through them. Rick looked at Jonathan. The other man was biting his lip, his face set. Rick glanced down; Jonathan’s foot still rested on the gas. Rick stamped down on it, hard. Jonathan yelped. The car leaped forward. 

Everything was chaos then, of men leaping onto the hood of the car and other men leaping out of the way. Rick shoved Evelyn down and crouched on the seat, fists raised, flinging guys left and right, trying to keep them off of Jonathan, who was doing his best to drive them in a straight line. Behind him, Ardeth Bey, Daniels, and the Curator were dealing with their own problems, slugging and punching and tossing. Everyone was shouting. A man leaped across Jonathan; Evelyn popped up and dealt him a solid right hook in the eye. Jonathan took a corner hard and Daniels went flying off the back of the car, out into the street with a couple of others. _God save him_ , Rick thought as they continued to race through the souk. There was nothing more they could do for him. 

“Hold on!” screeched Jonathan, sending a couple of townies flying as he flung the car around a corner. Rick wobbled; only Evelyn’s hand on his belt kept him from flying out like Daniels had. The roads were widening as they left the souk and sped out into the Sharia al-Azhar, but that did nothing to dislodge the men still thronging the car. One of them leaped at Jonathan; he lost control of the carl and they crashed into a fountain just outside of the al-Azhar mosque. Water spurted up into the air; their pursuers were almost on them. There was nothing for it but to run. Rick leaped over the side and turned back for Evelyn, swinging her down. He kept a firm hand on hers as they ran towards the mosque. If they could get inside, maybe the crowd wouldn’t follow. Would enchanted people still obey modern religious law? Rick had no idea, but it couldn’t hurt to try. He snatched up a torch that someone had dropped and waved it at the advancing men, driving them back a few paces. Ahead of him, Jonathan had caught hold of Evie and was towing her towards the mosque, Ardeth Bey and the Curator covering them. 

“Move! Get back!” Rick screeched at the crowd. 

It was a lost cause and he knew it. They were surrounded. The crowd hemmed them in against the wall, cutting off any route into the mosque itself. Rick waved his torch, looking desperately for any means of escape. It couldn’t end like this. Rick planted himself in front of Evelyn and Jonathan. He had survived ridiculous odds before, but always at the loss of companions. He was not going to lose these ones. 

But instead of falling on them and tearing them apart, the crowd stilled. They began to chant again, _Imhotep. Imhotep._ An avenue opened among them, a man walking forward, his head held high, his stride purposeful. Rick felt a hand on his arm. Evelyn. He glanced at her; she stared ahead, her face pale in the torchlight. 

“It’s the Creature,” Dr. Bey said, horrified. “He’s fully regenerated.”

So much for Daniels, then. Imhotep advanced on them, tall and striking in the torchlight. He spoke, and his voice was deep and melodious. Behind him came Beni. 

“Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine, forever,” he translated. 

“For all eternity, idiot,” Evelyn corrected. She sounded disgusted. 

Imhotep continued to speak, reaching his hand out, Beni translating in an injured tone. 

“Take my hand and I will spare your friends.”

Evelyn gasped. Rick sneered, gripping the torch like a club, fully prepared to set the mummy on fire if he came any closer. The audacity of the man, to assume that they wouldn’t fight to the death to protect her. Imhotep watched them, smirking. 

“Oh dear,” Evelyn breathed. “Have you got any bright ideas?”

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking,” Rick said. If they could just back up a little to the left, they could get through the mosque gates--

“You’d better think of something fast,” Evelyn said, looking at him, and something in her tone drew Rick’s gaze. “Because if he turns me into a mummy, you’re the first one I’m coming after.”

And Evelyn stepped forward out of the circle of men and took the mummy’s outstretched hand. 

“Evie!” Jonathan cried.

“No!” Rick fumbled for his gun, horror filling him. Ardeth Bey leaped at him, seized his arm. 

“Don’t!” Evelyn said, her green eyes huge. “He still has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual.”

“She is right,” Ardeth Bey said, trying to force Rick’s arm down. “Live today, fight tomorrow.”

Rick kept the gun pointed at Imhotep, almost too horrified to think. He looked at Evelyn, desperate. _He can’t have you; death can’t have you._ Evelyn looked back at him, her eyes determined, silently asking him to trust her. To live to fight another day. Rick snarled and holstered his gun. Imhotep looked from one to the other, understanding in his eyes. He did not let go of Evelyn’s arm. 

“I’ll be seeing _you_ again,” Rick said to him, and the promise in his voice clear even if the mummy couldn’t understand his words. 

Imhotep smirked and turned away, leading Evelyn back through the crowd. Evelyn kept her eyes on them as she walked, a long look that Rick tried not to interpret as goodbye. He couldn’t bear this, couldn’t bear to watch her walk away to her death.

“Evelyn!” he cried, trying to go after her, but Ardeth Bey held him back, his grip on Rick’s shoulders like steel.

Imhotep shouted something then and the crowd began to sway and chant. His meaning couldn’t be clearer. _Kill them all._ Evelyn began to scream and struggle. 

“No! Let go of me!” she screeched, clawing at him. _“Rick! Jonathan!”_

Beni darted forward and snatched at Jonathan, grabbing the key out of his pocket. Jonathan slugged him, hard, but Beni danced away. 

“Thank you!” he said, and gave Rick a grin. “Goodbye, my friend.”

This time Rick managed to yank himself from Ardeth’s grasp. “Come here, you little--”

But Beni was gone, disappearing into the crowd after Imhotep, and the men were advancing to do their master’s bidding. Rick looked around, desperate. A glint on the ground caught his eye; a manhole cover. The sewers. He threw his torch at the advancing crowd and bent to drag it open. 

“Come on!” he shouted, grabbing Jonathan’s hand and pulling him forward. 

“What about my sister?”

“We’re gonna get her back!” Rick slung Jonathan down the hole. Ahead of him, Dr. Bey advanced on the crowd, drawing his sword and hacking on their attackers. Ardeth made a move to help him, but Rick grabbed him and forced him down the hole after Jonathan. 

“Come on!” Rick shouted at the Curator. “Give me your hand!”

“Go!” Dr. Bey shouted back. 

“Come on!” Rick screeched. Couldn’t the man see that this was futile?

“Go, now!” Dr. Bey bellowed, and there was nothing for Rick to do but to leap feet first down into the sewer. 

Hands caught him, steadied him; Jonathan’s hands, clutching at Rick’s shirt. It was pitch black underground, but somehow they were running, the roar of the crowd and Dr. Bey’s dying screams drifting down to them as they hurried through the underground. They splashed through filthy ankle-deep water, away to safety--or at least, Rick hoped it was towards safety. He felt sick. 

Light filtered down from overhead, another grate in the street. Ardeth Bey climbed up, looked, gestured for them to follow. They pushed the grate open and emerged into the deafeningly silent night. They were in the main courtyard of the mosque. 

Jonathan fell to his knees on the grass, panting. Rick fell down beside him. 

“I can’t lose her!” Jonathan said, tears in his voice. “I can’t, O’Connell, she’s the only family I’ve got left.”

Rick clutched his head, closer to crying himself than he had been in years. All he could see was Evelyn’s face as she walked away from them, saving their lives. 

“Oh, God,” he whispered. “Oh, God.”

Author's Note: Finally, an update! The largest souk in Cairo, according to my guidebook, is the one in the old city, and I wanted to find a place kind of like the one they used in the movie for the final showdown. If you've listened to the commentary, that wall behind them is the entrance to a burial ground. I've made it a mosque here because it's right in the souk, which is very convenient, as well as making it a place of sanctuary. I hope you like this story! Please let me know what you think in the comments. 


End file.
